More than I bargained for...

stioc

Expedition Leader
Have you ever been on an offroading trip that you felt wasn't ending soon enough or when you got out of the truck to kiss the tarmac when you got to it? I know, pretty darn silly for someone who enjoys the outdoors and less traveled places but it's how I felt on my last offroading outing. I think it was a combination of 110deg blazing sun, 13 cars of varying capabilities and skill level (from a Yamaha Polaris, to a KLR to a stock F250 diesel to a trail-only Bronco and everything in between), erroded and washed away 'trails' that no longer existed. We bashed and smashed our trucks on shelf roads that were strewn with rocks that were sharp and sometimes as big as 2ft with no other way around them. Sure enough they claimed two tires that day with gashes in the sidewalls. Luckily they weren't mine. Mine did take the relentless pounding all day long. Our poor dog even got tossed around in the back and bit his toungue :(

Let me back up a bit though, the idea was to go mine exploring in Joshua Tree with a local group and then camp for the night. It sounded innocent enough that it would make me feel comfortable bringing our 9mo pup and my gf, thankfully I didn't bring my kid as some others did. I don't think anyone expected the trails to be this rough. I think I broke a few of my own safety rules on this trip; I should've acted on some of the red flags early on including under estimating the trip, but the alternative was being stuck in the middle of nowhere alone trying to find our way back. In addition, several experienced members suggesting that the terrain would improve further on we chose to stay with the group. Having no cell signal (ATT or Verizon) or a good GPS with Topo maps we didn't have much of a choice anyway. About 2-3pm the large group started whittling down as the others started turning back at various points to go home. In the end it was three trucks that planned to camp on the BLM land but as we started making our way back out to find a place to camp we lost another truck as he turned down another path without any communication on the CB or FRS - which in most cases was useless that day and not because it was FRS/CB but different people were using different devices, channels and what not- this was one what I didn't like the most i.e. even when I called out on the agreed upon channel I didn't get an answer. The trucks in front didn't warn us about the conditions or perhaps suggested we turned back. Anyway, so in the end it was just two of us left in the middle of no-frigging-where, luckily I knew the owner of the other truck fairly well and hence the reason we stayed with them so far- at least we didn't fear for our lives :) but it was like a bad movie happening. As the sun started to disappear we decided that once we reach the tarmac they'd continue on home and we'd try our luck finding a campsite at the Cottonwood Campground in Joshua Tree. Eventually our caravan of two trucks blazed a trail through rocks, dirt, sand, brush and God knows what else and finally made it back to the tarmac just as the sun set and man was I ever so happy to see that nicely paved black road! We aired up (that VAIR works really well but gets super hot, enough to burn your hand) and headed for the campground. We were lucky to find a nice spot with clean bathrooms nearby. We quickly setup camp in the moonlight, washed up, cooked dinner and then sat for a while recounting the events of the day; it was a very nice ending to a pretty interesting day. Of course, it's all subjective, if I had 35" tires on a built truck with a winch, lockers, sliders, skid plates, a SPOT I think this would've been a fun trip :)

We couldn't take pics of the gnarly stuff as we were sitting on the edges of our seats asking the Lord for mercy lol

Nice and clean in the morning:
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One happy dog...not. The pic was taken before we started.
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Brooklyn Mine Jeep Trail:
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OOPS! one of the victims with a 4+" gash in the side-wall:
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Descending down this thing was scary as the truck slid sideways on the loose surface even with the wheel cranked the other way. Going up it wasn't as bad but the traction was low even in 4-Lo.
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Somewhere along the trail:
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You can see one of the trucks further down the hill and a tin roof of the shack we visited. The terrain we crossed to get to this area was really erroded and had deep ruts but the shack was stocked with a 5 gal Arrowhead water bottle, folding chairs, unopened boxes of those orange discs used for shotgun practice and few other odds and ends. Someone (or something/zombies? lol) definitely lived here...we decided not to stay long and turned back.
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My gf was so happy to see the road too that she sat in the middle of the road to take this pic:
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On the way home, the dog's happy again:
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Allof75

Pathfinder
Looks like a memorable trip for sure! Reminds me of a couple escapades I've had out in Mojave Nat. Preserve, where the pucker factor is high and the diffs hang oh-so-low.

Anyway, how bad was the casualty rate? Any Pathy damage?
 

stioc

Expedition Leader
Looks like a memorable trip for sure! Reminds me of a couple escapades I've had out in Mojave Nat. Preserve, where the pucker factor is high and the diffs hang oh-so-low.

Anyway, how bad was the casualty rate? Any Pathy damage?

Yeah memorable for sure. Thankfully no real damage that I noticed other than a few new pinstripes and a couple of close calls, mostly I just felt bad for the passengers and the Pathfinder.

Does not sound like a group I would venture out with again

That's what the gf said too. I think there are a couple of guys in that group that I wouldn't mind going out with again but not in a big crowd like this weekend.
 
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no-pistons

Adventurer
Great place, but you guys are crazy to go there in this heat. Also, brave on going out without sliders. BTW, great looking dog, what kind is it?
 

stioc

Expedition Leader
With plenty of water/gatorade and the a/c the heat wasn't so bad once we got used to it. Funny thing about the hight deserts is the temp variance from day to night. It got down to the low 50s at night.

The dog is a mutt; definitely some kind of an Akita mix. He's about 10mos old now, we got him at the local shelter in Jul where he'd been almost his whole life because he has a chronic diahreaa. When we saw him and learned about him we couldn't pass him up. He's our first dog and something my now 8yo has been begging me for for the last 4 years.


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Hill Bill E.

Oath Keeper
Does not sound like a group I would venture out with again

I'd have to agree there.


Sometimes, being with an unfamiliar group is part of the adventure, other times, it can turn a trip miserable.

I try and be prepared for anything, and do some recon beforehand (even if it's just online, looking at maps, etc)

That can make a trip like that a bit more bearable.

The guy who just took off with no communication? That's BS. Just one of those things ya don't you. How hard is it to stop for 30 seconds, and tell the guy behind you/ahead of you that you are splitting and doing your own thing?

How's someone supposed to know that he's not just pulling off for a bathroom break? He comes back and everyone is gone?

At least you had an adventure, and made it back safe!!
 

WagoneerSX4

Adventurer
Cute pup! My dog has the same problems, but it sounds like not to the same extent. My dog (Ozzy - lab/border collie cross) is allergic to gluten, any sort of corn-based filler, all sorts of stuff. His dietary needs are expensive but the ones that need a lot of care are usually the ones that give the most back.
 

stioc

Expedition Leader
Another member posted this close up of one of the 'trails'. It got pretty gnarly towards the top- the pics just don't show it.

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